Basket Case 2 (DVD)

Basket Case was the first strike in Frank Henenlotter's 3-pronged attack on cinema, followed by Brain Damage and Frankenhooker. Low budget schlock taken to the extreme, Basket Case was a masterpiece of sleazy, budgetless horror that even to this day remains a unique beast in horror movie history, with nobody even attempting to rip Henenlotter's slightly deranged genius tale of brotherly love off. 8 years after the original was released, and after 8 years of people attempting to get him to sequel the movie, Henenlotter finally succumbed to the desire, and Basket Case 2 was born. Shot back-to-back with Basket Case 3: The Progeny, the movie saw Henenlotter ...

Although it took eight years for cult director Frank Henenlotter to revisit the twisted world of Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his basket-bound, mutant former Siamese twin Belial, this sequel picks up the plot mere moments after the original Basket Case ended, finding the psychically-linked brothers mangled but very much alive after the rather aggressive tiff that pitched them out a Bowery flophouse window. They manage to elude the authorities, escape the hospital (to avoid having to explain the dozen-or-so murders committed by gnarled, lumpy Belial), and eventually find sanctuary at the palatial home of Granny Ruth (jazz songbird Annie Ross), an eccentric ...

Nearly a decade after his cult classic Basket Case, Frank Henenlotter decided to make this hilarious comical movie. Kevin Van Hentenrick returns as Duane, carying his murderous, deformed sibling Belial in a wicker basket. He comes into contact with a special home for freaks, who take them both in. Unfortunately, their past catches up with them. Obviously inspired by the '30s classic Freaks, especially in the over-the-top climax, this is a well scripted sequel, benefitting from a much bigger budget than the original. Nobody does twisted comedy like Henenlotter, and this is no exception. What makes this movie so great is the bizarre imagination that went into ...